Police Minister Jack Dempsey and the Queensland Police Service (QPS) will be launching revised police recruitment requirements to attract a broader range of police applicants.

Mr Dempsey said the new entry requirements, beginning July 1, would allow people from all walks of life to apply to join the Queensland Police Service.

“As part of the Newman Government’s commitment to 1,100 additional police officers over the next four years, Queensland will soon be undergoing a significant police recruitment drive and we’d like to see more people apply,” Mr Dempsey said.

“People from different backgrounds undoubtedly bring with them a diverse skillset, which is a must in any modern police service.

“The revised new entry requirements will give anyone from tradespeople to executives the opportunity of a career in policing without changing standards in the selection process.”

Currently, applicants must have a form of tertiary education before being c onsidered for entry into the police service.

Mr Dempsey said the new process will require all applicants to be at least 18 years of age, be an Australian citizen, hold a provisional or open drivers licence and have completed year 12 or have at least three years fulltime employment experience.

“If applicants have these prerequisites they can then sit for the police entrance exam as well as psychological, fitness and medical testing. After this, a panel will assess their suitability,” he said.

The new process is similar to those of other services throughout Australia.

Mr Dempsey said there are a lot of experienced people out there who could contribute valuable skills to the Queensland Police Service and he was urging them to apply.

“In the police service you deal with a wide variety of people so it makes sense to draw recruits from varied backgrounds,” he said.

“So if there’s an electrician, office administrator or school teacher out there who’s always thought about joining the police service, now is the perfect time.”